The Influence and Role of the Islamic Tradition in Turkey Essay

Islam has been a dominant force throughout Turkish history. During the Ottoman Empire, Islam ruled every part of the theocratic state, but later on the demise of the empire, Turkeys rulers led the country away from semipolitical Islam. The modern Turkish state has a strictly lay government, and Islam has been relegated to the personal sphere. Although Turkey has go through a rise in fundamentalism in the past twenty years, the dissolution of church and state has remained relatively intact. Even with this increase of fundamentalist Islam, the round-eyed majority of Muslims in Turkey are moderate and tolerant. They have qualified to modern life and value Islam for its moral and spiritual messages. Islam is a precede for right living and ethical conduct rather than a political system. Turkey constantly struggles to balance Islamic life with a secular government. Although the government wants to maintain a strict separation between trust and politics, it cannot ignore the power and influence that Islam has in the lives of the Turkish people. History of Islam in Turkey ?In the 8th century, the first Turkish-speaking tribes migrated westward from central Asia and began converting to Islam.? They became Sunni Muslims, who practise the most orthodox form of Islam.? Islam appealed to these nomads because it was a simple faith with sincere requirements.? Many were so passionate about the faith that they became ghazis, ?warriors for the faith. Fighting the Byzantines, they began to reduce the lands of Anatolia in the name of Islam.? The Ottomans, one of the Turkish clans, became the dominant leaders of this sensitive land and united the scattered Turkish tribes.? By the 12th century, a new wave of Turkish immigrants who followe... .... Path Kandil.11 Brosnahan12 she-bop row mars Turkey anniversary. Oct. 29 2003. Web. Dec. 10 2013.13 early(a) articles of interest?Hardy, Roger. ?Islam in Turkey Odd one out.? Web. Dec. 10 2013. 14?Narli, Nilufer. ? The Rise of the Islamist Movement in Turkey.? Middle East Review of internationalistic 15?Affairs. Sept. 1999. Web. Dec. 6 2013..16?Democratizing Islam in Turkey.? Christian Science Monitor. Web. Dec. 2 2013..17Kili, Dr. Suna. ?Islam and Secularism in Contemporary Turkey.? Voice of Ataturk Ataturk Society of America. Web. Dec. 10 2013..